Google is known to have a lot of services with similar features, which includes its variety of chat applications. While it is a known fact that its music services need more work, the company has now decided to act on it. A statement was released today practically confirming a merger between Youtube Red and Google Play Music (GPM), but with no immediate changes anytime soon.
Google assured users that they will be notified before any changes take place. In fact, they are still in the process of planning and figuring out the most efficient way to put the music services together.
During the New Music Seminar conference in New York, YouTube executive Lyor Cohen further stated that the two should be combined to make one cohesive service.
Understanding the basics
YouTube Red is a premium streaming service available only in select countries, including the USA, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, and South Korea. The payment allows ad-free streaming for all videos that are on YouTube. It also has features for offline and background playback of videos as well as access to music streaming through GPM without the advertisements. In addition, users can enjoy YouTube Red Original film and video series.
Google Play Music is basically Google's version of Spotify. It provides free and ad-supported radio music and podcasts.
Users who have all-access can see their entire catalog of music with selected tracks open for purchase with additional fees. For the free subscription, the user can create his or her own music library and upload up to 50,000 songs. Unlike YouTube Red, GPM is available in 64 countries and has over 40 million tracks to select from.
What does it mean for users?
As previously stated, a YouTube Red subscription basically accounts for a GPM subscription as well. In reverse, GPM users also receive a free Red membership. It makes sense to combine both into one property, especially when its competitors have already taken such a leap.
Google can take advantage of the extensive collection of music videos on YouTube.
This same strategy has already been done by Apple Music and Spotify when they integrated video into their respective apps. In addition, Google's music ecosystem is now becoming clearer for users due to the many services it offers.
Another possible upside is that the merger may bring YouTube Red to a larger scale of users, particularly in countries where GPM already operates. While it is not clear yet how Google plans to facilitate the merger, it is a good thing to know that the company is finding ways to make the user experience easier and more convenient.
